Blogs With Balls: Female sports community ignored, again
June 11, 2009 by Megan Hueter
Filed under Events, Feminism, From the blogosphere, Objectification in Sports Blogs, Sports Journalism
If you’re familiar with the mammoth multi-billion dollar male sports blogging scene, you’ve probably heard of A.J. Daulerio of Deadspin, Spencer Hall of The Sporting Blog or Dan Kellyand of the Bleacher Report.
Chances are, if you know these guys, you also know about Blogs With Balls. Why? Because they’re panelists. And chances are, (forgive me for stereotyping)… you’re a guy.
The first of its kind, Blogs With Balls is a an event occuring in New York City this Saturday, June 13. Sponsored by Yardbarker, this event will bring together some of the biggest names in the sports blogosphere for a one-day discussion on the space.
Topics include the future of sports media, leveraging social media, claiming earned media, the secret of success, content networks, financial return, and sports journalist vs. blogger.
While these topics are great ones and people in the industry would (and should) gain value from attending the event, I must point out that there is one serious problem. And if it is not addressed now, I fear that it never will be.
While some of the speakers on the agenda do include women, many of these ladies either work in the male sports industry or blog about completely men’s sports. Only one of the panelists actively blogs about women, and that’s Sarah Braesch, who, only as of a few nights ago, became an advisor to WomenTalkSports.com.
It is incredibly obvious that the female sports blogging community (yes, there is one) is seriously under-represented at this “sports blogging event.” In my opinion, if you’re going to use a gender-neutral term like “sports,” you had better include the other gender’s interests and not force us to live in a separate world. This is not only a common, significant oversight, but a dumb one, too.
- WomenTalkSports.com is the first female blogging network. None of us were invited to Blogs With Balls.
As far as I know, WomenTalkSports.com is the only network of female sports bloggers (writing completely about women’s sports).
Not one of its founders or bloggers was invited to this event. YardBarker (of which I am a member), HHR MediaGroup and every single panel moderator (including Matt Ufford, With Leather.com, Michael Tunison, KissingSuzyKolber.com, Dan Shanoff, DanShanoff.com, Sporting News, Matt Sebek, JoeSportsFan.com Dan Levy, On the DL Podcast) either did not realize this problem or chose to ignore it.
If you’re a female sports blogger, the very name of the event, Blogs With Balls, should – on some level – piss you off. Do you really think women are welcome or taken seriously at such an event? It’s not exactly welcoming for the gender that doesn’t (physically) have balls.
So I must ask those in the male sports industry – what do we need to do to be welcomed? This points to an even bigger quesiton – what do female athletes themselves need to do to be welcomed in traditional media coverage of sports (that doesn’t involve taking off clothes)? This, for example, would make a great debate topic for a panel this weekend.
Why were we excluded? Here’s my take – because that’s where the money is. As I mentioned earlier in this post, male sports a multi-billion dollar industry. To date, the female sports industry is not at that level. Until women sports bloggers are recognized as part of a bigger, more diverse “sports community,” we will continue to rest in the shadows of our male counterparts.
I didn’t write about this topic because I hate men (I actually love them). I blog because I hope the opportunity to join this community is possible.
Until then, I’ll rest on Saturday knowing that Sarah will be there talking for me, and maybe next year, I’ll get the invite.
You going on Saturday? I’m one of at least two female sports bloggers who will be there, though she’s more sports blogger and I’m more blogger with sports and food interest. Anyway, come find us.
Unfortunately, I can’t attend, though I’d love to. I am coaching a basketball tournament for 14 year olds in Ocean City, MD. Had I known about this sooner, I could have planned around it. Have a good time, though. Be sure to say Hi to Sarah Braesch for me, http://blogswithballs.com/speakers/sarah-braesch-bio/.
Actually, Women Talk Sports is NOT the first, nor is it the only sports blog network for women. Women’s Sports Nation, Right Fielders, and Playing the Field and others all came before you, so I would be careful about how you market your network. I know quite a few women who would take offense to you claiming to be the first.
And as far as Blogs With Balls, sure there could be more women on the panel and this is something I brought up with the organizers long before you wrote this post. But I did it privately. Publicly shoving ourselves down the throats of the people who participate in these events doesn’t make us look any better. It makes is look like whiny women who feel we are entitled to equality, just because we are women. Sure, we’re entitled to equality. Not because we are women, but because the quality of our work is equal. With all due respect, the list of panelists for BwB contains people who have not only been doing this for years but have obtained a level of success in it that isn’t rivaled by anyone on your network.
And as for the idea that the women who are going to BwB write about men’s sports in a male sports industry, you are perpetuating the very discrimination you are screaming about. Judging a fellow female blogger because she doesn’t write enough about women’s sports defeats your own feminist ideals. One could accuse you of discrimination for not writing about men’s sports. A female blogger (or any blogger) shouldn’t be judged by the subject of her writing, but the quality of her work.
If you’re looking for an “invite next year” as you mentioned, this is not the way to do it. You are not entitled to inclusion simply because you write about women’s sports.
Hi Sarah,
First, thanks for reading my blog (and for expressing your views on WomenTalkSports.com). I’m honestly glad to see that you, the founder of Playing the Field, are not only reading my blog but participating in important conversations such as this one.
To be clear, I applaud your efforts (as well as other women in the sphere) and I want you to know that WomenTalkSports.com hopes to convey a message that, though we’re new and different, we aim to be cooperative – not competitive with other women in the space as we support all female voices in the sports industry.
As for our claims to be the “first female sports blog network…” I think yours and our definition of the phrase is quite different. WomenTalkSports seeks to put a bit more emphasis on the female sports aspect of the phrase. We would never claim to be the “first network of women sports bloggers,” as the latter is simply not true, as you correctly pointed out in your comment above. We are not actively discriminating against men. In fact, we have many men contributors who are strong advocates for female athletes.
My intention with this post was to never develop negative relations with the leaders of the Blogs With Balls conference, the industry, or the women who were asked to speak, as I sincerely respect their experience and perspectives. I did not mean to convey a message that the women who are speaking should be excluded. Rather, I was trying to say that those who blog about female athletes should be included.
Above, I was attempting to simply draw attention to a problem…as I believe our exclusion from Blogs With Balls was not malicious or deliberate. The problem I refer to is one that exists not only in sports blogs, but in traditional media as well.
Many times, female athletes and those who work in female athletics are simply “left out” of the front pages, the headlines, the job opportunities and speaking opportunities at conferences such as this. And I firmly believe that to be included, we need to start speaking up and letting people know we’re here.
So far, this post has generated some great discussions across a variety of platforms online, and I strongly believe that bringing a voice to the problem is the first step in having it addressed.
You’ll be glad to hear that months ago, prior to posting my blog, I had reached out to Yardbarker to see if there were any speaking opportunities available at Blogs With Balls. Unfortunately, they responded saying there were none. Therefore, I decided to write this post. You may be surprised to hear that my efforts in drawing attention to this issue was moderately successful, as @HHReynolds mentioned to me via Twitter that I can talk to him about participating in their next gathering, which will be announced on the 13th.
As for my feminist ideals, I strongly believe that providing a voice to an undeserved population of women is fulfilling the principles I choose to embrace. I continue to respect women who choose to express their feminist ideals in other ways. Again, thank you for stopping by.
My husband has always said with regard to women and sports “follow the money”.
In Houston we couldn’t even manage to keep the WNBA alive with the winning team ‘The Houston Comets’. Although I agree with everything you say, the issue is still, and always will be, about money. It’s a shame, but it is true.
Women will get respect in sports, and sports related issues, when John Q. Public decides to get involved. It doesn’t matter how well you write, jump,
throw, or talk…. it’s about the money. Hope it gets better while I am
still alive to know about it. The only girls sports they had when I was in High School was ‘field hocky’…..’nuff said’.
Shari: When you follow the money, you generally find the most gifted athletes at the top. So how well an athlete runs, throws, or jumps does matter; e.g., Division II athletes don’t get the attention that Division I athletes get, semipro athletes aren’t paid the same as pro athletes, etc. The trouble, then, originates mostly with things that hold female athletes back as athletes, and these must be addressed before further progress can be made. Here, two books of fairly recent vintage point the way: “Playing With the Boys: Why Separate is Not Equal in Sports” by Eileen McDonagh and Laura Pappano, and “The Frailty Myth: Redefining the Physical Potential of Women and Girls” by Colette Dowling.
Megan: You make a valid point. Women Talk Sports is, as far as I know, the only blog network devoted to women’s sports. This is something new–as opposed to networks for women who merely write about sports–and fills an important need. Apples and oranges, I say, and certainly no cause for a turf war.
ARGH. If they really meant “blogs with balls” – assuming the latter word is being used metaphorically, not literally – they’d have invited a few of us FEMINIST sports bloggers – meaning, writers (male or female) tackling tough, totally under-reported topics about women’s AND men’s sports. I often get a violent reaction from readers, but don’t back down from my point of view and am grateful for the blogosphere – because my point of view is not “marketable” enough to be supported by a newspaper column.
Blogging, in other words, is of particular importance to feminist sports writers.
I think that the idea that we shouldn’t “shove ourselves” down their throats is wrong headed.
Look at the success of talk radio, political commentary on television and the like. People actually WANT to hear those confrontational dialogues, and those of us who are willing to roll up our sleeves and get into it should be given the chance. (Rachel Maddow doesn’t play nice, does she?)
Journalists with a more conciliatory attitude do important work, but let’s face it – we won’t get anywhere with the media by playing nice.
Good sports-talk panels involve real, honest to got debate and differences of opinion.
If they had balls, really, those guus would have thought to invite you and other strong, polemical voices to the table – they’d have in fact SOLICITED the opportunity to be challenged, just as any half-decent athlete would welcome the chance to up their game.
Remember Billie Jean King? Was she playing nice when she blasted open the doors for women athletes using a giant publicity stunt, in which she didn’t hesitate to be cast as the ball-breaker?